novelraw Chapter 37
Chapter 37
Ch.37 Could It Be Because It’s a Phoenix, It Doesn’t Feel Cold?
The snowy plains of the northern New Continent.
On a night lit by the full moon, an eerie sight catches the eye.
A barefoot girl in a dress walks dreamily across the mystical snowfield.
With snow-white hair and a face both cute yet somehow cold, the sight of her walking alone through the snow-covered expanse feels strangely unsettling.
Her thin dress adds not just strangeness—but outright eeriness.
It’s unnatural: a girl who looks no older than ten, unprotected, barefoot, clad only in such flimsy clothing, wandering alone through the frozen wilderness with no guardian in sight.
Though she should be under parental care, not a single adult is near her.
Humans—whose lives are fleeting even compared to dragons—have always stirred her curiosity.
“Uuung… It should be around here.”
The young girl, her voice still childlike, scans her surroundings, searching for something.
Just then, far off in the distance, a sled kicks up a snowstorm as it approaches—and catches her eye.
Seeing the sled pulled by a dog as large as a wolf, she feels a surge of curiosity.
“What’s that?”
To her, such a thing seems utterly wondrous and unfamiliar.
After all, she’s rarely seen human-made objects.
For her, whose lifespan stretches across ages, a human’s life is but a fleeting instant—yet she holds deep curiosity and yearning toward them.
Thus, she begins running after the sled.
Her eyes, fixed on the moving sled, brim with intense curiosity and fascination.
After chasing it for a long while, the sled finally enters a village. The girl is overjoyed.
At last—the human settlement she’s been searching for so long.
Without hesitation, she dashes toward the village.
Inside the dim village stands a humble house.
Drawn by the warm light glowing through the window, the girl creeps closer.
Peering inside, she sees a small table laden with delicious-looking food and a family gathered around it—and feels a strange, unfamiliar emotion.
Watching the humans, whose skin appears slightly reddish, almost faintly pink, she falls into thought.
‘Humans really do care for their families, don’t they?’
Her own meals were always shared only with her mother—just the two of them.
Though she has a biological father, he rarely visited her.
Just then—
A little boy inside the house spots her through the window and points, shouting something—but his words are too muffled to hear.
Soon, a young man and woman inside turn toward her with startled expressions, exchanging hushed words.
And then…
The man stands up, steps outside, and looks directly at the girl.
“Who are you? Where are your family members?”
The girl answers the man, whose face is filled with concern.
“I don’t have a family. I’m all alone.”
Of course, she does have family—but right now, they’re all deep in slumber.
That’s why she snuck out of home: to seek out humans, the most fascinating beings in her eyes.
“Come inside first. It’s freezing out here.”
The man opens the door and gestures for her to enter.
She follows his words and steps into the house.
The man follows her in.
—Click!
The door locks shut.
***
—Clack… clack…
On the road heading north through the New Continent,
I grip the reins, listening to the cheerful sound of hoofbeats.
“Refreshing.”
Maybe it’s because I’ve spent so long in the desert?
Leah, seated on the driver’s bench, is even humming a tune—clearly in a very good mood.
“Master… but why aren’t there any dragons left in the Old Continent?”
“Well… as far as I know, they migrated to the New Continent to avoid unnecessary conflict with humans.”
According to the game’s lore, dragons moved to escape human disputes—but as a veteran player, I suspect it’s more likely a setting the developers added alongside the New Continent.
If dragons appeared in the main story where you hunt the Demon King, the game would feel too easy. That’s probably why the Ancient Dragon in the ‘Dragon War’ DLC was stronger than the Demon King himself.
“Just for that reason?”
A question mark appears on Leah’s face.
“It’s not ‘just’ anything. Even dragons aren’t omnipotent.”
In the DLC, the New Continent is utterly helpless against the dragon-led monster hordes and overwhelming magic.
The dragons’ sheer power, devastating spells, and endless waves of troops make the difficulty spike to nauseating levels.
In fact, compared to the Demon King, dragons feel far stronger—so much so that defeating the Demon King seems easier by comparison.
Of course, dragons do have weaknesses.
Their biggest flaw is their numbers.
Each dragon possesses immense health and mana—but the entire dragon population barely exceeds a hundred.
No matter how powerful they are compared to humans, they’re still outnumbered.
In the game Destiny, there exist exceptional heroes.
Though no single hero can defeat a dragon one-on-one, if they band together and take them down one by one, they can inflict serious damage on the dragon race.
“I see.”
While talking with Leah, we’d unconsciously arrived at Quincy City.
As the first proper northern city in the New Continent, we’ll restock here before heading further north.
Passing through the city gates and entering the streets,
“Master… doesn’t it feel a bit chilly now?”
“Yeah, probably because we’re heading north?”
The southern New Continent is famous for its deserts, while the north is known for its snowy tundra.
No wonder the air now feels not just cool—but distinctly cold.
After settling our luggage at the inn and stepping outside,
Leah spots the bounty notice board and lets out a sharp cry.
“Aaah?!”
Her voice, though brief, is packed with unmistakable shock. I turn to look at her.
“What’s wrong?”
Wide-eyed and slack-jawed like a fool, Leah points at a poster.
What on earth could make Leah—of all people—gape in astonishment like that?
Curious, I followed her finger to the poster.
“What? What is it—?!”
The moment I see it, my own mouth falls open in disbelief.
“Whoa?! What are they doing here?!”
A large bounty poster displays grotesque sketches of Scarlet, Cecilia, and Mia. Without thinking, a curse slips out.
“Damn it!”
They were supposed to be dancing with men at the Emperor’s festival in the Old Continent—but their presence here means something has gone terribly wrong.
“B-but… what about the Imperial Festival?”
Leah murmurs softly, unaware of my connection to them—but that’s the least of my worries right now.
“But what crimes did they even commit…? ‘Violence, murder, property damage, and attempted slave liberation’?”
As Leah reads the charges aloud, I feel a deep sense of dread.
“S-slave liberation…?”
Slave liberation—the New Continent’s hottest, most volatile issue.
It’s an event deliberately added by the developers to mess with players, since the ‘Dragon War’ storyline would get boring if you just rescued Hatchling without complications.
Please tell me they didn’t actually touch that landmine…
I desperately hope they didn’t.
I just want to rescue Hatchling and wrap up ‘Dragon War’ cleanly.
According to the story, as long as you avoid interfering with slavery and just wait, the next DLC—’King of the Dead’—will begin.
Once that’s done, the slavery trap disappears entirely.
But… why are they even here? Could they be looking for me?
I specifically told Giovanni to fake my grave and lie—but their presence here means…
Surely they didn’t come all this way for some memorial pilgrimage… Something has gone drastically off-script.
Did they… figure it out? If so, I’m seriously screwed…
As despair and fear grip me,
Leah’s eyes sparkle as she asks,
“Master… after we finish our schedule, can we go meet them?”
Hearing that, I think to myself:
‘Leah, do you hate me that much? After everything I’ve done for you?’
Oblivious to my inner turmoil, she casually suggests something that would literally get me quartered.
“Not now… maybe later?”
There won’t be a ‘later’. It’s just a desperate lie to buy time—but Leah nods, believing me.
“Yes! I really want to introduce you to them!”
‘Do you really want me dead that badly?’
Seeing her say such ominous words with a slightly flushed face terrifies me.
I’d better get away from her as soon as possible.
If Scarlet’s party has discovered my secret and is hunting me, this situation is extremely dangerous.
Leah seems eager to reunite with her friends immediately.
I might be able to delay their reunion for now—but there’s clearly a limit to how long I can stall.
She’ll definitely insist on meeting them once we rescue Hatchling.
And if they somehow learn my location beyond just Leah…
—“Master?! Your legs?! Burn in hell!”
I’d be turned into BBQ by Leah’s furious magic.
Resolved to separate from Leah as quickly as possible, I calmly say,
“Meeting them sounds nice—but let’s buy what we need first. We can’t visit anyone until our tasks are done.”
Pushing aside the shocking discovery, we purchase supplies for the journey ahead: thick cold-weather gear, heavy blankets to block the chill, shovels, food—and then eat dinner at the inn.
That night,
“But… didn’t their boyfriends come with them?”
Leah mutters softly, her face full of curiosity—and I flinch involuntarily.
“Huh? Why would you think that?”
Leah ponders for a moment before replying,
“Well… their boyfriends aren’t on the bounty posters. Maybe something happened to them?”
Seeing her worried expression, I quickly say,
“We’ll ask them when we meet.”
Leah giggles and says,
“Oh, right! Master, did you know?”
“Know what?”
“Cecilia’s boyfriend has the same name as you!”
Her words make my heart skip—but I carefully hide my reaction.
“Oh… really? I didn’t know.”
“Huh? I thought I mentioned it in my last letter… Guess I forgot.”
We end the conversation there and prepare for bed.
A few days later,
Fearing a possible encounter with Scarlet’s party, I hurry to resume our journey.
Being in the same central region makes me even more anxious to leave.
I need to rescue Hatchling, obtain the Trident of the Sea God, and get out of the New Continent as fast as possible.
I never imagined they’d chase me all the way here.
The thought of being caught makes my heart pound so hard it feels ready to burst.
I’ll finish what I must and escape back to the Old Continent before Scarlet’s party finds me.
“Master… aren’t you cold?”
Leah, wrapped in a thick blanket, blows warm air into her cupped hands.
Her nose is red from the chill as I reply,
“We haven’t even reached the north yet.”
Without a thermometer, I can’t be precise—but it feels about as cold as an autumn night.
“But it’s still too cold!”
Shivering, Leah looks at me.
“If you’re that cold, stay inside.”
She shakes her head.
“It is cold… but I don’t want to be alone.”
—Pip!
As if agreeing, Pipi lets out a tiny cry.
“Oh? Pipi seems much bigger now, doesn’t it?”
The little one tilts its head, as if understanding my words.
It does look longer than when I first saw it.
Back then, Pipi’s body and face were plump and round—but now its legs seem slightly longer and baby fat gone. It’s less cute than before, yet somehow closer to the phoenix I remember from the game.
“Hehe. It really has grown a bit.”
Finding Pipi adorable, Leah pulls a snack from her subspace pocket and offers it. Watching Pipi peck at it happily, I think:
It grew fast in the game too, didn’t it?
“Is it tasty, Pipi?”
—Pip… pip.
Pipi chirps softly, nodding as if to say yes.
“But Pipi… aren’t you cold?”
At Leah’s question, Pipi tilts its head again.
“Could it be… because it’s a phoenix, it doesn’t feel cold?”
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